Strong Foundation
by Manda-chan
Summary: And even in the hard times, even when she wavered like this, his hands were right there with hers in the soil, creating a strong foundation between the two of them. - ChasexMolly Newlywed fluff.


A/N: This is my entry for a Harvest Moon short story contest that Harvest-Moon-Cafe on Deviant Art is holding. I decided to write some newlywed fluff, as the idea has been rolling around in my head for awhile now. This is centered on Chase and Molly from _Harvest Moon: Animal Parade_.

Disclaimer: Harvest Moon and all of its canon characters do not belong to me. They belong to Natsume and their official creators.

Hope you enjoy the story! :D Feedback is greatly welcome and appreciated!

* * *

**Strong Foundation**

* * *

Molly awoke that morning in a blissful state of mind and body. There were a few slivers of light coming in from the far window by the front of her small country-style house, blurred through her sleepy vision, and a chirping of birds outside that slowly edged its way into her consciousness.

In the recesses of her brain, she knew she had to get up and start the day, even if it was much more tempting just to lay in bed and enjoy the warmth of the blankets - and of the arm curled loosely around her middle.

Chase was a surprisingly sound sleeper. While Molly was more than aware that she had a tendency to move around a bit at night, she didn't so much hear a grunt of discomfort from her newlywed husband. He slept peacefully and was content enough just to press lightly into her back, his nose and breath tickling the edges of her short, curled hair. The young farmer bride couldn't help but smile fondly as she turned to face him, reaching a hand up to tuck a tussled piece of his strawberry-blonde hair aside.

Maybe... her work could wait just a little bit longer this morning. She might have taken the whole day off for the wedding already the day before, but a little indulgence now and then wouldn't hurt anything, right?

...Even if Mayor Hamilton _did_ give her a discount offer she couldn't refuse on that extra plot of land for her crops down near the fence and the trail to Flute Fields, the plants could survive a couple more hours without watering and weeding and the rest of it. She had faith in them and in the land itself.

And besides, the wedding night had proven quite taxing on her muscles - even when she was already accustomed to heavy and strenuous labor on her farm and ranch daily. She felt her cheeks warm at the thought. There was still a definite soreness in her body, but... it wasn't unpleasant. And from the looks of it, Chase had worn himself out even more than she had. He had yet to even stir or make a sound through his slumber.

With a quiet yawn, Molly snuggled in closer to Chase's addictive warmth and let her heavy eyelids droop until they fully covered the honey color of her eyes once more. Just a few more minutes, she swore, and then she would rise for the day and get to her farm chores.

She couldn't possibly skip them two days in a row.

* * *

Molly's subconscious was interrupted the second time not by sunlight or birds, but by an absolutely _delicious_ smell wafting in from nearby.

"Mnn...?" Her eyes slowly blinked partway open, taking in the full light of the room cautiously as the last remnants of sleep dispersed. It took a few moments for her to realize that the space next to her was already vacated. "...Chase?"

"Morning, sunshine," came the amused and slightly-sarcastic tone of her husband from the far side of the room.

Molly turned around to blink sleepily at him, pushing herself up with one arm. He was already fully dressed in the greens of springtime, his signature sandals on his feet as he stood at the front of the stove, frying something in the pan. Clearly, that's where the aroma that awoke her was coming from.

"Whatsatime is it...?" she slurred, trying to edge herself up a little further away from the pillow, as though it had the power to tempt her to lay right back down.

Handling the pan like the master chef he was, Chase turned toward her with a raised eyebrow. "Jeez, Molly. You weren't even this out of it that time I brought you to my place after finding you half frozen in the snow."

The memory in question wasn't setting into the brunette's muddled mind just yet and she blinked in confusion, brows drawing together. And the expression brought a smirk to her husband's features. "You know, it should really be illegal for you to be that damn cute first thing in the morning. People are supposed to look like hell when they first get up."

Still, not all of his words were fully registering with the sleepy young woman. She brushed a lock of hair away from her eyes and slowly sat up, the blanket still hanging along one naked shoulder as she shifted her legs over the side of the bed.

Chase's eyebrows raised a little higher as he turned to glance at her again. "You really _are_ out of it, aren't you?" He mused, the smirk returning to his features. "It's already after ten. And usually you're up at the very crack of dawn."

Again, it took a moment for the words to seep in. But once they did...

"Oh gosh... the... the _crops_...!"

Molly's eyes widened as she shot up almost ram-rod straight, the covers falling from her naked form as she unceremoniously fumbled off of the bed and toward her dresser. Chase dropped the spatula he was using on the stove top in shock of her outburst, but she ignored it as she dug through her drawers, grabbing the clothes from on top of each pile and uncaring of the color coordination.

"_Hey_. Whoa, _whoa_. Molly, just calm down. There's no-"

"I already let them go for the entire day yesterday!" Her frantic voice muffled through a sock that was hanging from her teeth as she hopped on one leg, shoving the other sock onto her raised foot. "The animals need food and the crops all need water and I was supposed to harvest the wheat and the lettuce and strawberries-!"

Chase heaved a sigh, running his free hand through his unruly hair. "A couple of hours isn't going to make a _difference_."

"If the sun gets too high and they haven't been watered, there could be damage and the animals are going to be angry with me and-"

"No."

The one solid word made her freeze halfway through pulling up a pair of dark blue work shorts, turning to glance at her husband.

His spatula was in hand again, arms crossed over his apron-clad front as he glared at her. "I made breakfast. You're not going out there before you eat."

"But-"

"_No_," he repeated firmly. And when she pouted at him, he rolled his eyes. "Look, I've watched you overwork yourself to bone season after season. You're foolhardy and careless and that's going to stop."

"The plants and crops need-"

"_Your_ needs are more important," he interjected once more, his amethyst-colored eyes softening a little as they landed upon her. "And if you won't take care of yourself, then _I'm_ going to take care of you."

With a defeated breath, she finished pulling on her shorts and fished for a top. The annoyed curl to her lips remained as she mumbled, "You're so stubborn..."

"Damn right." He scoffed, turning back to the stove with a small grin and evidently taking her grumbled comment as a compliment. "And you're going to sit your cute butt down in that chair and have pancakes as soon as you're finished getting dressed."

The smallest of chuckles escaped her throat as she tugged on one of her favorite yellow tops. It was funny to think about how much Chase had changed since she first met him up in the Celestia Church courtyard. He seemed to hate being around people in general and he was rude and dismissive...

And now even at his most skeptical and sarcastic, he held a warmth within his tone that was just for her. Two years had changed a great many things between her and Chase. She never thought he was the type of man that she would ever marry.

It wasn't as though they always got along, by any means, but they worked out the kinks. And Molly could say that she was happy - happier than she ever really expected to be. Things had gotten a bit quiet after Finn rejoined the Harvest Goddess and the other harvest sprites, and Chase's presence filled a void she hadn't even realized was there.

"Are you spacing out again?"

Molly snapped out of her thoughts and simply turned to him and flashed a smile, not offering any sort of verbal response. He, in turn, gave her a rather incredulous look.

"When you make a face like that after being irritated, I have to wonder if you're plotting something."

Grabbing her work gloves from on top of the dresser drawers, Molly made her way over to the table and sat herself down in front of the tableware he had already set up in her spot, still grinning mysteriously. And as expected, there was a tall glass of orange juice standing just beyond the plate, the rim of the crystal reflecting and redirecting the sunlight shining in from the window.

However, a moment later, the brunette noticed something odd. Blinking at the table set-up, she turned a puzzled glance to her husband. "Chase, where's yours?"

"Hm?" He looked over his shoulder as she gestured down to his empty spot on the table. Chase shrugged casually. "Oh, I figured I would focus on making sure you ate, first. Then I'd eat later after you go and tend to your animals and crops."

"No."

Her tone almost mirrored his resolute firmness from before, pulling his gaze back to her again. Chase offered her a blank stare.

"No," she repeated, as if still mimicking him. Her arms even crossed just below her bust. "You're going to sit down and eat _with_ me."

"Is that so?" He drawled, flipping a flapjack over in the pan before adding it to the small stack on the counter next to him.

"That's _so_," she huffed with finality. "I'm not eating a bite until you sit down and eat, too."

Even if Molly loved his pancakes since the first time she'd had a taste, it wasn't going to deter her decision. If Chase could be stubborn, so could she.

"It's a deal," he suddenly conceded without any sort of argument. Molly inwardly figured it was probably because he was more concerned with her eating something before working instead of putting up a fight just to be difficult, but she wasn't about to complain. They were newlyweds, after all. Why shouldn't they enjoy a morning breakfast together?

The thought still brought a wave of giddiness with it. Newlyweds. The day after the wedding. Starting their new life together.

This was actually _real_.

Rising up from her chair, Molly's lips curled into a smile once more as she went to fetch a plate and silverware for Chase and hastened to place them in front of the chair opposite hers on the table. What was still missing was obvious. And she stifled a giggle as she called out to him, "There! Your place is all set."

Sliding another fully-cooked pancake onto the stack, Chase reached forward to turn the burner off before he set the pan back down and glanced over at the table. For her efforts, all that Molly earned from her husband was another eye roll.

"If you forget _that_, I just may have to rethink this whole "marriage" thing."

It was clear from his tone of voice that he knew she called attention to it on purpose, which only made Molly grin all the wider as she headed for the fridge. Pulling out a container of freshly-squeezed orange juice, she shook it lightly before setting it on the counter beside the steaming pile of pancakes.

"One of these days, I'll find better ways to tease you," she mused as she poured him a glass.

Chase gave a snort as he reached down and took the plate of flapjacks in one hand. "Leave that to me," he stated as he passed her, deliberately giving her backside a pinch with his free hand to make his point. He was rewarded with a startled yelp and a pink flush to Molly's cheeks.

"_Chase_!"

"What can I say," he shrugged, setting the plate of pancakes onto the table with unneed flourish. "Your reactions are more than worth it."

Still a little flushed, the brunette approached the table and rather roughly set the glass of orange juice before her husband.

"If you do it here, then... then fine, but don't do it in public again!" Her face reddened further remembering the incident all too clearly.

Chase had to pull the glass of juice away from his lips before he could take a sip, nearly spurting out a stifled burst of laughter. "You mean that time at the bar, right? Come on, Molly! That was ages ago! And everyone in there was drunk, anyway. They aren't going to remember a damn thing."

"Kathy remembered!" Molly protested instantly, the bridge of her nose turning as pink as her cheeks. "And she teased me the entire shift the next day! Then she even got Luke smacking his bottom to mock me and they were both laughing like crazy!" She'd been _so_ embarrassed!

"Give me a break," he jokingly pleaded with a forced pout of his own. "When you bend over like that and your skirt's swaying back and forth and you're concentrating so _intently _on a mundane thing like scrubbing the table down, how can I _resist_?"

"Everyone in the bar turned and looked!" she all but threw her hands up as she shoveled a few pancakes onto her plate. "You didn't have to... to smack that _hard_!"

"You didn't have to squeal that _loud_, either," he pointed out nonchalantly, twirling a butter knife between his fingers.

"You... you are terrible," she accused him with narrowed golden-brown eyes, pointing her fork in his direction before she brought it down to the pancakes.

"You didn't say that last night," he supplied with the same tone of voice, though now he wasn't even trying to hide the smirk on his face.

Molly nearly choked on the piece of pancake she had been swallowing. Her face was bright red all over again. "Ch-_Chase_-"

"You really make this too easy. I thought married life would challenge my previous way of life, but I could definitely get used to this." He mused aloud as he cut off a section of his own pancake and popped it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "So how am I doing at this husband thing so far?"

"You might have a pancake on your face if you keep it up."

Despite the warning, he grinned. "Then I'd say I'm doing pretty well."

A small silence followed after that, the clinking of silverware being the only sound between the two. Clearing her throat, Molly looked up at him a little timidly through her chocolate-colored bangs.

"What about me? Am I doing okay as a wife?"

Chase blinked at her, pausing half-way in popping another piece of pancake into his mouth. Instead of continuing that path, he placed the fork down and put a hand to his chin, as if in critical deliberation over her question. Molly shifted uneasily from the other side of the table under his scrutiny.

"...Passable," he said at last. "But I think you need to stop being adorable before I give into the urge to either pinch your cheeks or carry you right back over to the bed."

"I have _chores_," she emphasized, though his choice of words still summoned heat to her face. "Being married doesn't mean I can neglect my daily responsibilities."

Chase took a long sip of his orange juice before declaring, "Boring."

"Well I can't put it off any longer," she huffed, throwing him an irritated glance. "I spent all of last year saving up to buy the farm plot by the fence and I intend to make good use of it."

The glass of juice stopped just before his lips. "What? The you mean the one down below the one you have now? You bought that area?"

"Yes," she confirmed, gathering her last slab of pancake onto her fork. "From the Mayor. It needs to be weeded and plowed and I need to sow seeds-"

"On top of everything else you're harvesting from your main one?" He questioned incredulously, the glass of orange juice still hovering near his mouth as he stared across the table at her. "You're going to try to do that all in _one_ damn day?"

Ignoring his tone, she swallowed down the rest of her pancake and polished off the juice in a final swig, placing the glass back on the table. She then reached for her work gloves that she had set aside. "That's right. I let it go long enough as it is. The animals aren't going to be in a good mood, either."

Chase put his own half-drunk glass of orange juice down with enough force to rattle the table, glaring at his wife. "You'll pass out before _noon_ if you try to do all of that, you blockhead!"

Molly had ceased responding to him, instead heading over to the door to put her shoes on. She'd already decided what she was going to do and she was going to do it. This wasn't winter time - she wasn't in any danger of collapsing in the snow. And spring was the best time to get a fresh start and prepare new soil for use.

What was Chase even getting upset over, anyway? She had breakfast. And now she was ready to start her day. What was wrong with that?

...Maybe she was still a little bit taxed from the unexpected amount of exercise the night before, but she wasn't going to let that hold her back. She had work to do and that was that.

"_Molly_!"

Rounding on him when she heard his chair screech back against the floor, she waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry, all right? If I get tired, I'll just take a dip in the hot springs out back. It'll be fine."

"You always say that! You..." Frustrated, he ran his fingers up through his hair. "Why can't you just learn that you don't have to do _everything_ at once?"

"I know my limitations," she assured him, pausing just before heading out the front door. She flashed him a bright smile. "Thank you for breakfast. It was wonderful."

And with that, she headed out into the bright sunlight, leaving her grumpy husband to glower after her.

* * *

Appeasing the animals took a bit longer than Molly would have hoped. They weren't at all pleased to have been ignored for a day, and they didn't understand her pleads about her wedding and how important the day was for her.

Calming techniques that she had learned from Renee over at Horn Ranch had at least worked for two of her cows, but the sheep would not let her get anywhere near it with the milker and her horse kicked the entire feeding trough over when she brought him food. It seemed a little extreme, but she had to keep them closed up in the barn and coop yesterday, even though it had been a nice day. They were probably stir-crazy and especially annoyed with her because of that.

Eventually, though, she managed to feed and brush them all and milk the cows. The chickens and duck had no eggs for her, but that was to be expected. At the very least, she could let them all outside later, after she finished the rest of the farming. Perhaps that would cheer them up a little bit.

..._If _she finished the rest of the farming before the day was over. Given how high the sun already was, she would have to work non-stop to finish everything she needed to do even by sunset.

Molly was stubborn, though, and she wasn't a quitter. She knew that she could do this. And she would - not to prove Chase wrong, but to prove to herself that she could handle it.

Ever since he found her unconscious in a snowstorm at the beginning of the last winter season, Chase fretted over her all the time. He checked for fevers, he asked her if she felt dizzy, and with even the smallest thing that was abnormal, he wanted to drag her all the way to Choral Clinic to see Doctor Jin and make sure that everything was okay.

She knew that he meant well, but... it was suffocating, to be honest. And it made her feel rather like she was being babysat and coddled when she didn't need to be. Everyone made mistakes, right?

Molly was truly glad that Chase had come to care so much about her, though. A year ago, he would have denied any interest and brushed it off. He was rarely invested in anything that wasn't cooking. Their relationship was full of ups and downs and all-arounds, and sometimes it was a marvel that they ever ended up so in love, especially given how often they would fight.

Shaking her head with mild amusement at that thought, she pushed the barn door open and headed back into the hot midday sun, shielding her eyes for a moment to get accustomed to the light again. It had definitely gotten warmer out already and she adjusted the straw hat on her head to give her face a little more shade.

She would tackle the harvesting, first. Then, after that was all done and the plants were resowed and watered, she would take the hoe and sickle down to the new plot.

A little warily, she turned her honey-colored eyes toward said plot of land and-

Molly did a double-take, her mouth dropped open in surprise. There, at the edge of the new plot she had purchased, her husband was bent over the ground, wearing a loose white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow and a pair of work jeans. He appeared to be pulling weeds.

"Chase?" she questioned aloud, though it didn't have nearly enough volume to carry all the way down to him.

If it was one thing that Molly knew for certain about Chase, it was that he _hated_ farm work. He always bought produce for his dishes fresh from Marimba Farm and absolutely refused to get down into the dirt and grow his own vegetables and fruits. She brought up the idea to him once and he shot it down instantly, and with such disgust that she never touched the subject again.

Yet no matter how many times she blinked, his image remained, mismatched gloves upon his hands as he yanked up weed after weed and tossed them aside with a sour look. She could even see the hoe and her copper watering can set on the ground just above the empty plot.

With a stab of guilt, she realized that he must have done this because of her refusal to listen to him and take on a more moderate amount of work for the day. And he'd gone all the way to the point of doing something that he despised, for her sake. Biting her lip, Molly slowly made her way down the slight slope of the farmland until she could hear every grunt and swear that passed by her husband's lips as he worked tirelessly. From behind, she could see the sweat that had accumulated already upon his neckline, dampening the collar of the white shirt he wore.

Molly opened her mouth, but before any sound could come out, he immediately cut her off. "Go and do your harvesting on the other plot," he instructed in a gruff and winded voice, without even looking up. "I'll take care of this."

She shifted in indecision. The tools were right there, and the bags of seeds were collected nearby. The harvesting could wait for now. If they both worked on this together, then...

When her fingers went to reach for the hoe, they were caught in mid-air by a black glove. "_Don't_," he insisted with an edge of irritation. "I said I'll take care of it. Just get the rest done and leave this to me."

Her lips parted again, prepared to ask if he was sure, but she stopped herself before the words could form. That would only rile him up further at this point. He already looked annoyed and sported a smudge of dirt on his left cheek. His patience was likely already very thin.

So Molly conceded with a sigh, backing up as he put his focus back into weed pulling and not contesting his decision any further. Chase was probably even more stubborn than she was. Trying to talk him out of this would be nearly impossible if he had already set himself to it. And while she was grateful for his help, she didn't like to see him put himself into situations he hated and bear through it.

From now on, she was going to have to be a little less careless and hard-headed. She didn't want him to have to worry about her so much. Making Chase unhappy was not something that Molly strived to do.

In fact, he did so much for _her_ that she abruptly realized she had done almost nothing for him. He made her a delicious breakfast that she tried to walk out on, he put himself down into the dirt to assist her with farming chores that he couldn't stand just so she wouldn't over-exert herself... and what had she done for him?

Even from the past, nothing really came to mind. Molly made him that lackluster shortcake for Harmony Day, but his own that he had given her in return was ten times better. She had produce that she could offer him now for cooking and whatever else he wanted, but it just wasn't enough. As his wife, as his friend, as the woman who loved him... shouldn't she have been able to give him much more?

Her eyes drooped beneath the shade of the brim of her hat as she turned and headed back up toward her main plot of land, where luscious-looking strawberries and healthy wheat stalks awaited harvesting. Usually, the sight would have excited her, but with what was weighing down her mind, Molly didn't have her normal enthusiasm as she went to work. Until now, the bliss of love and marriage had blurred out everything else. What if she really wasn't what Chase needed?

What if... she was a burden?

It was terrible to think such things after their wedding. He wouldn't have married her if he didn't want to spend the rest of his life with her and have a family with her. What reason did she have to doubt his choices?

Those thoughts continued to weigh upon her as she harvested her crops, sowed new seeds, and watered the plot, occasionally turning her eyes to Chase as he worked tirelessly over the largest field. With her own sluggish movements, he even finished up just before she did, despite having even more work to do.

"If you're tired, I can finish up." She could hear him saunter up behind her, a watering can clinking against his side, the water lightly sloshing inside the metal container with every step.

Molly spared a glance back at him, noting how his clothing was wrinkled and littered with dirt and grass stains and his hair was even messier and more unkempt than usual (even one of the pins holding his hair back was missing). Sweat pasted a few strands of his sun-kissed hair down to his forehead and his face was work-worn, violet eyes dulled and eyelids just marginally drooping.

Chase looked _exhausted_. And yet he was offering to finish up for _her_? He certainly didn't look happy, but there was a determined luster in the reaches of his eyes. And she almost couldn't bear to see it. Molly bit her lip, bending over to water a few potatoes. "You've done more than enough, Chase. I was just... taking my time, today."

From behind, she heard him sigh. "Liar," he stated, though more in a casual way than with the accusing tone that he would often take when they argued. "It's not like you to dawdle this much unless you're not feeling well or-"

"I'm fine," she cut in. "I've just been... thinking, I guess."

"About?" he prompted, coming up beside her and watering the potato plants next to the ones that she was working on.

"A lot of things..."

"Molly," he spoke with a bit of an annoyed edge as he straightened himself. "This is getting nowhere if you don't tell me anything."

He was right, she realized with a sigh. Why should she be hesitating at all? They had come a long way from that awkwardness - they were _married_ now.

"You're... always helping me," she spoke softly, removing the white gloves from her hands. "And I really haven't done anything for you."

For a long moment, he simply stood there, exhausted and sweaty as he regarded her with an unreadable expression. Then, his shoulders drooped just before he reached out and took her shoulders, pulling her into his chest and wrapping his arms fully around her in an embrace. The straw hat from her head was knocked aside, floating idly in the air until it landed off in the grass a few feet away.

"You blockhead... were you really worrying about that?" Chase leaned back just far enough so he could press his forehead down into hers and look directly into her eyes. "Molly, you gave me someone to _live_ for. A reason to smile. And you filled a void that I wouldn't even acknowledge was there when I was only living for myself. I can't thank you enough for that. I thought I always liked being alone, but I can't imagine a life without you anymore. It would be empty and meaningless."

For once, there was not even a note of teasing in his voice and Molly was left almost speechless. Chase didn't throw sweet words and compliments and things like that around easily. When he spoke, he spoke honestly - even bluntly, a lot of the time. Sugar-coating was not something he ever did.

"Chase..." she started, but choked on the rest of the words meant to follow, burying her face into his dirtied shirt. She felt so stupid for even doubting at all. This was the beginning of their new life together. She had to have some faith in herself as well as in their partnership. It wouldn't break like it was being held together by temporary magic in a fairytale. This... was much stronger and more durable than that. A lot of time, effort, tears, laughter, and everything in-between was put into their relationship.

And that seedling grew and bloomed, just like a plant nurtured by care, hard work, and of course, love. It could weather any storm, as far as she was concerned. And even in the hard times, even when she wavered like this, his hands were right there with hers in the soil, creating a strong foundation between the two of them.

"Thank you," Molly finally whispered as she pulled back from him and gave him her signature smile. "You even came out here to help me with the farm work and tired yourself out and everything. You're the best."

That received her a smile in return. "There's no way I could let you work your cute butt to death out here. Besides, it wasn't so bad. You were getting so dirty and sweaty every day that I was starting to feel left out."

She raised a hand to his face, brushing to fingers along his dirt-smudged cheekbone. A small giggle escaped her throat. "I think you've got that part down."

Chase rolled his eyes, snatching up her hand and entwining his fingers with hers. "Says the dirt queen, herself."

Another laugh escaped the brunette farmer as she settled her fingers comfortably in his. "I guess I should get cleaned up then, huh?"

"_We_ are going to take a dip in the hot springs," he corrected matter-of-factly, giving a tug on their twined hands. And the smirk he shot at her was nothing short of wicked. "If you _really_ want to make it up to me, I have a few ideas..."

He only saw the cherry red color of embarrassment in her cheeks just before a dirtied white glove smacked into his face.

* * *

A/N: That's it! Hope you guys enjoyed. :3 I know I need to get back to a lot of fics, but I really wanted to get this one done for the contest before the deadline. Please leave a review if you can spare the time.

Thanks so much for reading!


End file.
